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Auburn, Feb.12, 2004---Cardiovascular disease, including stroke, claims more women’s lives than the next seven causes of death combined. Nearly 500,000 women die from cardiovascular disease annually, nearly twice as many as from all forms of cancer.

Women can do a lot to prevent cardiovascular disease and stroke. The first step is learning all they can about the serious health threats and by working to reduce risks.

Cardiovascular disease includes diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Most heart and blood vessel problems develop over time and occur when a person’s arteries develop

artherosclerosis -- a process that begins in childhood and involves a gradual buildup of plaque. Plaque contains fat, cholesterol and other substances, and it can grow large enough to significantly reduce the blood flow through an artery. Most of the damage occurs when plaque becomes fragile and ruptures. This causes blood clots to form that can block blood flow or break off and travel to another part of the body. The blood clots could block a blood vessel that feeds the heart or brain, causing a heart attack or stroke.

“For some reason, women think that heart disease is more prevalent in men,” said Dr. Kathleen Tajeu, a community health specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

“This misconception may stem from past major cardiovascular studies conducted on men and the fact that many clinicians and patients often attribute chest pains in women to noncardiac causes, leading to misinterpretation of their condition.”

Both women and men may present “classic” chest pain that grips the chest and spreads to the shoulders, neck or arms. However, women tend to have atypical chest pain or pain in the abdomen, difficulty breathing, nausea, back pain and unexplained fatigue during a heart attack. Women may avoid or delay seeking medical care, perhaps out of denial or not being aware of both typical and atypical heart attack symptoms.

Women do tend to have heart attacks later in life than men, but, they often have other diseases, such as arthritis or osteoporosis, that can mask heart attack symptoms. Increased age and the more advanced stage of coronary heart disease in women can affect treatment options. Increased age may at the time of a heart attack explain women’s greater mortality rate after heart attacks.

Because some diagnostic tests and procedures may not be as accurate in women, some physicians may avoid using them. The exercise stress test, or stress electrocardiogram may be less accurate in women. For example, in young women with low likelihood of coronary heart disease, an exercise stress test may give a false positive result. In contrast, single-vessel heart disease, which is more common in women than in men, may not be picked up on a routine exercise stress test.

On the other hand, more precise, noninvasive diagnostic tests tend to cost more. These include thallium, sestamibi or echocardiographic stress tests.

Stroke is another type of cardiovascular disease. It affects the arteries leading to and from the brain. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel carrying oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain can’t get the blood and oxygen it needs, so it begins to die. When part of the brain dies from lack of blood flow, the part of the body it controls is affected. Strokes can cause paralysis, affect language and vision, and cause other problems. Treatments are available to minimize the potentially devastating effects of stroke, but to receive them, a person must recognize the warning signs and act quickly.

Source: Dr. Katlheen Tajeu, Community Health Specialist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, (334) 844-2210.

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